Silage quality of catch crops

Although catch crops contribute to additional feed production, they are also considered to be difficult to ensile. In a trial, the ensilability and silage quality of the two standard mixtures 101 and 106 as well as mixtures with black oats, sorghum and foxtail millet were investigated. In addition to variants without an additive, we also tested variants with the chemical silage additive Kofasil Plus. Based on the fermentability coefficient, all mixtures were rated as difficult to ensile. Without a silage additive, the mixtures 101 and 106 silages as well as the mixture with black oats had very high butyric acid contents and pH values, and thus a very poor silage quality. With the addition of the silage additive, butyric acid formation was prevented. Despite this, the silages had a high acetic acid content. Only small amounts of butyric acid were detected in the two mixtures with sorghum and foxtail millet with and without silage additive. The addition of a silage additive also had a positive impact on the nutritional values. NEL content was in all cases higher in the treated silages than in the untreated silages.

Digital technologies are fixed features of modern agriculture – but to what extent are they already being used in Switzerland? A survey conducted by Agroscope provides answers to this question. Digital technologies reduce the physical workload of farming and contribute to sustainable field management. They also enable optimised management decisions based on plant- or soil-related…

Digital technologies represent an opportunity for the modern management of farms. For this, already available technologies must also be utilised in practice. An Agroscope survey illustrates the status quo of technology use.

Farms operate with a balanced nutrient cycle. Agroscope adjusted the reference values for suckling calves to the latest advances in animal production. The values for feed intake and nutrient excretion are now lower.